


Of Tulips and Timing (On the Summertime, When Weather is High Remix)

by Harleydoll



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Canon Disabled Character, Charles Being Concerned, Cherik - Freeform, Erik is a Father, Erik is a Sweetheart, M/M, Poor Erik, Post-Canon Fix-It, Remix, X-Men Apocalypse, X-Men Remix, X-Men Remix Madness 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 10:27:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8052775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harleydoll/pseuds/Harleydoll
Summary: Erik begins to understand what it means to fight for what he has left.





	Of Tulips and Timing (On the Summertime, When Weather is High Remix)

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [princess_fluffle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/princess_fluffle/pseuds/princess_fluffle) in the [xmen_remix_madness2016](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/xmen_remix_madness2016) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Safe work: so anything I've written except the one McFassy fic because it doesn't apply can be remixed.  
> Previous remixes, if any:This is my first time and I'm really excited!  
> I am okay with my X-Men comics/original movie trilogy/cartoon works being remixed: yes!!  
> I am okay with my collaborations being remixed: I don't think I have any  
> I am okay with being remixed in a different medium (fic for art or art for fic): YES!! OMG THAT WOULD BE SO EXCITING  
> I am okay with certain WIPs being remixed: yes, nothing is off limits

Erik kneels down in the dirt, closing his eyes as he presses his palms to the earth. The last time he did this, he destroyed acres of land in his hatred and grief. Now, he seeks to rebuild what he has left. The ground rumbles at his touch, restless and ready to obey his will. Erik works slowly, turning and refreshing the surrounding earth until, satisfied, he releases his hold. He stands, dusting his hands off on his jeans as he walks over to the wheelbarrow filled with gardening tools and fresh seeds. He reaches out with his power, feeling the sharp edges of the metal hand tools, marvelling at how something so dangerous could create life instead of destruction, when he senses something else. Something more delicate, like...a locket.

Erik cocks his head towards the line of trees in his peripheral vision. “You might as well come out. I know you're there.”

There's a rustle of movement, and Erik catches a glimpse of dark brown hair and pink running shoes. Just a girl, then. “Come on out, I don't bite.”

When the girl timidly steps out from behind the tree, Erik takes an involuntary step back. That dark hair, those big, curious, brown eyes, and the silver locket around her neck, not to mention the girl can't be more than a year or two younger than Nina. He shakes his head and plasters a smile on his face that he hopes won't scare the girl away.

“Are you lost? It's easy to get turned around out here.”

The girl shakes her head. “I wanted to help.”

Erik raises an eyebrow. “Help with what?”

The girl takes a hesitant step forward and points at the wheelbarrow. Erik nods, understanding. So she likes to garden. He can work with that. “Alright, let's see what you can do.”

The girl grins and takes another step forward before kneeling down and mimicking Erik's earlier movements, pressing her hands flat against the ground. Fresh grass crops up under her touch, spreading across the surrounding area faster than Erik can process. Soon, the entire field is in full bloom, and the girl is smiling even wider as she watches Erik's reaction.

“I can talk to plants,” she explains. “I make them grow. Only...sometimes I grow them in bad places. Like my bedroom. Or my daddy's foot.” The girl blushes, and a bright red tulip the same shade as her cheeks crops up a few feet away. “Whoops, that wasn't supposed to go there.” She raises her hand to take it away, but Erik stops her.

“Leave it. It looks nice there.” God, she looks so much like his Nina when she smiles. “What's your name?”

“CarrieAnne. Are you sure? People don't like when I plant things where they don't belong.”

Erik kneels down to meet her eyes. “Once, a few years ago, I planted myself where I didn't belong. I had a family, a daughter a lot like you. She could talk to animals the way you talk to plants.”

CarrieAnne's eyes are wide. “Really?”

Erik nods. “But that's all over now. I was chased away from my home for being different. That's why I'm here now.”

CarrieAnne nods along in agreement. “Professor X says there's a time and a place for everything. And one day, our time will come too. Whatever that means.”

Erik smiles in spite of himself. “He means that right now, you are that red tulip. And where I came from, I was a red tulip, too. We're different, CarrieAnne. And we don't belong out there, not yet, anyway. But just like that tulip, you are beautiful and unique, and you have a place here with all the other mutants that were planted where they didn't belong.”

“Just like you!” CarrieAnne responds, pointing a finger at Erik's chest. Another red tulip, this one much smaller, blooms from his breast pocket. Erik instinctively touches his chest, but to his relief, they're only growing from the fabric of his shirt.

“Yes,” Erik agrees. “Just like me.”

~

Charles watches the exchange from the gravel driveway surrounding the mansion, a smile playing across his lips. He wasn't sure if it was the right decision, asking CarrieAnne if she'd like to help his friend with the gardening, but from the looks of things it was a risk worth taking. Across the field, CarrieAnne slips her hand into Erik's and he flinches, but doesn't stop her. Together, they walk back to the mansion, the wheelbarrow quietly trundling behind them. Charles notices that it's hovering ever so slightly above the ground, so as not to trample the new grass.

 

Erik can sense the metal of Charles' wheelchair long before CarrieAnne breaks away and runs over to where Charles is sitting. “Professor, look what I grew!”

Charles ruffles her hair affectonately. “You did wonderfully, CarrieAnne. Now go inside and wash up for lunch.”

CarrieAnne nods and runs off again, leaving Erik and Charles alone together. Before Charles can say a word, Erik is kissing him, bracing one hand on the arm of his wheelchair for balance while the other snakes around Charles' neck, caressing the smooth back of his skull.

“I have to tell you something,” Erik murmurs against Charles' mouth.

_Can't it wait?_ Charles cranes his neck to meet Erik's lips again, impatient and needing. His fingers find the waistband of Erik's jeans and deftly slip underneath, eliciting a low growl from Erik.

_Come inside,_ is Erik's telepathic reply, and Charles feels an insistent tug on his chair.

_That's the plan—oh, Erik._ Charles gazes up at him, having picked up on the stray thoughts at the forefront of Erik's mind. “You've decided to stay.”

Erik bites his lip and touches the tulip in his breast pocket. “I might have a few reasons to stick around.”

“Mm. And I can think of a few more.” Charles jolts his chair forward a few inches, causing Erik to topple into his lap. 

“Charles!”

Charles just laughs and kisses him again, warm and demanding. “You mentioned something about coming inside?”

~

Later, lying naked in bed and curled in each others' arms, Erik remembers what CarrieAnne said to him, that there is a time and place for everything. Perhaps this is the place for him, for now anyway. Side by side with his oldest friend, lover, and adversary, working to help children like CarrieAnne. Like Nina.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers?” Erik laces his fingers through Charles' own and rests their hands on Erik's abdomen, just below Charles' chin. “I missed you, you know. In my head.”

“And I missed you in mine.” Charles snuggles against Erik's chest, stealing a glance at the alarm clock net to their bed. “I have a class to teach in half an hour. You're welcome to sit in, if you want.”

Erik doesn't hesitate at all. “I'd like that.”

**Author's Note:**

> So....this went from total smut (which was great by the way, I love when Charles has strange but completely in character kinks) to a moderately angsty fix-it fic for XMA xD I guess I just wanted Erik to find peace after everything he's been through, and this was a great opportunity to play up Erik's paternal side!


End file.
